Lawyer moves to court to stop prosecution over Sh10.4M in Tuju case

Former Rarieda Member of Parliament Raphael Tuju.[File, Standard]

A Nairobi-based lawyer arrested several weeks ago over a Sh10.4 million bribery case linked to former Cabinet Secretary Raphael Tuju has moved to the High Court seeking orders to block his prosecution.

In a case filed under a certificate of urgency before the Milimani High Court, lawyer Joseph Kimani Wachira is seeking conservatory orders to stop his imminent re-arrest and prosecution by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Wachira argues that the bribery allegations against him are fabricated and part of a wider scheme to entrap and maliciously prosecute him.

In court papers filed through Wachira & Mumbi Advocates, he claims his arrest by EACC detectives was not a genuine law enforcement operation but a pre-arranged and orchestrated trap, with Tuju named as the first respondent and alleged architect of the scheme.

“The Petitioner has already been subjected to an abrupt and unlawful arrest, detention, and humiliation on allegations of soliciting a bribe in circumstances that were pre-arranged, staged, and orchestrated with the sole purpose of fabricating a criminal offence and entrapping the Petitioner,” he states in court papers.

Wachira further alleges that a key participant in the alleged sting operation has since sworn a statutory declaration confirming the episode was engineered through entrapment and manipulation, evidence he claims the EACC has ignored.

He contends that despite what he describes as clear exculpatory evidence, investigative agencies have persisted with the case in bad faith and with a predetermined agenda to prosecute him.

The petition names four respondents: Tuju, the EACC, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), and the Attorney General, accusing them of abusing State power and violating his constitutional rights under Articles 27, 28, 29, 47, and 50.

In his supporting affidavit, Wachira says he was detained overnight, subjected to humiliation, and later released on bail, resulting in loss of liberty, reputational harm, and professional prejudice.

He warns that, unless the court intervenes, authorities may proceed with what he terms an unlawful prosecution likely to cause irreversible damage to his legal career.

The application seeks orders halting any further arrest, summons, or prosecution pending the hearing and determination of the petition.

“Unless this honourable court intervenes urgently, the Petitioner is exposed to imminent unlawful prosecution, continued harassment, intimidation and coercion… and irreparable damage to his professional reputation,” the court papers read.

The case is pending a hearing.